Jenn Williamson (she/her) leads a team of advisors in developing and implementing ACDI/VOCA’s organizational policy, strategy, guidelines, and resources to promote gender equality and inclusion of systemically or historically excluded groups who may be at risk due to social factors, such as their age, ability, sexual identity, religion, ethnic, or racial identity. Jenn also supports ACDI/VOCA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program, serving as a member of the DEI Sponsor Group that supports organizational DEI strategy development and operationalization. Jenn is an Executive Board Member of the Coalition for Racial & Ethnic Equity in Development (CREED), of which ACDI/VOCA is a first endorser and founding member, and a co-author of the CREED Pledge.
Jenn recently served as the gender and agriculture systems advisor (at the deputy chief of party level) for our Advancing Women’s Empowerment program, funded by the USAID Bureau for Resilience Food Security. She previously led the women’s economic empowerment learning track under our USAID-funded Leveraging Economic Opportunities project. Prior to joining ACDI/VOCA in 2015, Jenn was the global technical advisor at Counterpart International. She holds a BA in English and studies in women and gender from the University of Virginia, an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MA and Ph.D. in English with a research concentration in gender, race, class, and intersectionality from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has a working knowledge of French and has earned certifications from UK Aid Direct, InsideNGO, the United States Institute of Peace, InterAction, and others.
